The Workplace Relations Commission found that Mc Guire Haulage Limited constructively dismissed Desmond O’Farrell and awarded him €34,680. The WRC decision was dated 17 November 2022. It also awarded him €5,440 in minimum notice pay.
O’Farrell resigned after a client site ban left him without work in Wexford for more than two years. The company said the client controlled access to its site, local work was unavailable and O’Farrell had declined work in Dublin. O’Farrell said the employer helped bring about the ban and left him employed but without work.
The WRC found that leaving him without work for a prolonged period breached the employer’s contractual duty and that the Dublin option was not realistic. It concluded that constructive dismissal had been established: the employer’s conduct made it reasonable for O’Farrell to resign. The €34,680 redress was 51 weeks’ pay at €680 a week. His minimum notice complaint also succeeded, with an award of eight weeks’ pay at €680 a week.